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Romanishin A, Vasilev A, Khasanshin E, Evtekhov A, Pusynin E, Rubina K, Kakotkin V, Agapov M, Semina E. Oncolytic viral therapy for gliomas: Advances in the mechanisms and approaches to delivery. Virology 2024; 593:110033. [PMID: 38442508 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2024.110033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 02/04/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Glioma is a diverse category of tumors originating from glial cells encompasses various subtypes, based on the specific type of glial cells involved. The most aggressive is glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), which stands as the predominant primary malignant tumor within the central nervous system in adults. Despite the application of treatment strategy, the median survival rate for GBM patients still hovers around 15 months. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are artificially engineered viruses designed to selectively target and induce apoptosis in cancer cells. While clinical trials have demonstrated encouraging results with intratumoral OV injections for some cancers, applying this approach to GBM presents unique challenges. Here we elaborate on current trends in oncolytic viral therapy and their delivery methods. We delve into the various methods of delivering OVs for therapy, exploring their respective advantages and disadvantages and discussing how selecting the optimal delivery method can enhance the efficacy of this innovative treatment approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Romanishin
- Institute of Medicine and Life Science, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Kaliningrad, 236041, Russia.
| | - A Vasilev
- Institute of Medicine and Life Science, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Kaliningrad, 236041, Russia
| | - E Khasanshin
- Kaliningrad Regional Hospital, Kaliningrad, 236016, Russia
| | - A Evtekhov
- Kaliningrad Regional Hospital, Kaliningrad, 236016, Russia
| | - E Pusynin
- Kaliningrad Regional Hospital, Kaliningrad, 236016, Russia
| | - K Rubina
- Faculty of Medicine, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Lomonosovsky Ave., 27/1, 119991, Moscow, Russia
| | - V Kakotkin
- Institute of Medicine and Life Science, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Kaliningrad, 236041, Russia
| | - M Agapov
- Institute of Medicine and Life Science, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Kaliningrad, 236041, Russia; Faculty of Medicine, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Lomonosovsky Ave., 27/1, 119991, Moscow, Russia
| | - E Semina
- Institute of Medicine and Life Science, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Kaliningrad, 236041, Russia; Faculty of Medicine, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Lomonosovsky Ave., 27/1, 119991, Moscow, Russia
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Lou Z, Post A, Rodgers CE, Chamankhah M, Hong J, Ahuja CS, Khazaei M, Fehlings MG. Neural Progenitor Cells Expressing Herpes Simplex Virus-Thymidine Kinase for Ablation Have Differential Chemosensitivity to Brivudine and Ganciclovir. Front Cell Neurosci 2021; 15:638021. [PMID: 34938162 PMCID: PMC8685296 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.638021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural progenitor cell (NPC) transplants are a promising therapy for treating spinal cord injury (SCI), however, their long-term role after engraftment and the relative contribution to ongoing functional recovery remains a key knowledge gap. Selective human cell ablation techniques, currently being developed to improve the safety of progenitor cell transplant therapies in patients, may also be used as tools to probe the regenerative effects attributable to individual grafted cell populations. The Herpes Simplex Virus Thymidine Kinase (HSV-TK) and ganciclovir (GCV) system has been extensively studied in the context of SCI and broader CNS disease. However, the efficacy of brivudine (BVDU), another HSV-TK prodrug with potentially reduced bystander cytotoxic effects and in vivo toxicity, has yet to be investigated for NPC ablation. In this study, we demonstrate successful generation and in vitro ablation of HSV-TK-expressing human iPSC-derived NPCs with a >80% reduction in survival over controls. We validated an HSV-TK and GCV/BVDU synergistic system with iPSC-NPCs using an efficient gene-transfer method and in vivo ablation in a translationally relevant model of SCI. Our findings demonstrate enhanced ablation efficiency and reduced bystander effects when targeting all rapidly dividing cells with combinatorial GCV and BVDU treatment. However, for use in loss of function studies, BVDU alone is optimal due to reduced nonselective cell ablation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zijian Lou
- Division of Genetics and Development, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Alexander Post
- Division of Genetics and Development, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Christopher E Rodgers
- Division of Genetics and Development, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Mahmood Chamankhah
- Division of Genetics and Development, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - James Hong
- Division of Genetics and Development, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Christopher S Ahuja
- Division of Genetics and Development, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Mohamad Khazaei
- Division of Genetics and Development, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Michael G Fehlings
- Division of Genetics and Development, Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Chelliah SS, Paul EAL, Kamarudin MNA, Parhar I. Challenges and Perspectives of Standard Therapy and Drug Development in High-Grade Gliomas. Molecules 2021; 26:1169. [PMID: 33671796 PMCID: PMC7927069 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26041169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite their low incidence rate globally, high-grade gliomas (HGG) remain a fatal primary brain tumor. The recommended therapy often is incapable of resecting the tumor entirely and exclusively targeting the tumor leads to tumor recurrence and dismal prognosis. Additionally, many HGG patients are not well suited for standard therapy and instead, subjected to a palliative approach. HGG tumors are highly infiltrative and the complex tumor microenvironment as well as high tumor heterogeneity often poses the main challenges towards the standard treatment. Therefore, a one-fit-approach may not be suitable for HGG management. Thus, a multimodal approach of standard therapy with immunotherapy, nanomedicine, repurposing of older drugs, use of phytochemicals, and precision medicine may be more advantageous than a single treatment model. This multimodal approach considers the environmental and genetic factors which could affect the patient's response to therapy, thus improving their outcome. This review discusses the current views and advances in potential HGG therapeutic approaches and, aims to bridge the existing knowledge gap that will assist in overcoming challenges in HGG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shalini Sundramurthi Chelliah
- Brain Research Institute Monash Sunway, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Science, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia; (S.S.C.); (E.A.L.P.); (M.N.A.K.)
- School of Science, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia
| | - Ervin Ashley Lourdes Paul
- Brain Research Institute Monash Sunway, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Science, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia; (S.S.C.); (E.A.L.P.); (M.N.A.K.)
| | - Muhamad Noor Alfarizal Kamarudin
- Brain Research Institute Monash Sunway, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Science, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia; (S.S.C.); (E.A.L.P.); (M.N.A.K.)
| | - Ishwar Parhar
- Brain Research Institute Monash Sunway, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Science, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia; (S.S.C.); (E.A.L.P.); (M.N.A.K.)
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Engineering and Characterization of Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus Expressing Truncated Herpes Simplex Virus Thymidine Kinase. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12010228. [PMID: 31963415 PMCID: PMC7016767 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12010228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Revised: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Oncolytic viruses are a promising class of anti-tumor agents; however, concerns regarding uncontrolled viral replication have led to the development of a replication-controllable oncolytic vaccinia virus (OVV). The engineering involves replacing the native thymidine kinase (VV-tk) gene, in a Wyeth strain vaccinia backbone, with the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) gene, which allows for viral replication control via ganciclovir (GCV, an antiviral/cytotoxic pro-drug). Adding the wild-type HSV-tk gene might disrupt the tumor selectivity of VV-tk deleted OVVs; therefore, only engineered viruses that lacked tk activity were selected as candidates. Ultimately, OTS-412, which is an OVV containing a mutant HSV-tk, was chosen for characterization regarding tumor selectivity, sensitivity to GCV, and the influence of GCV on OTS-412 anti-tumor effects. OTS-412 demonstrated comparable replication and cytotoxicity to VVtk- (control, a VV-tk deleted OVV) in multiple cancer cell lines. In HCT 116 mouse models, OTS-412 replication in tumors was reduced by >50% by GCV (p = 0.004); additionally, combination use of GCV did not compromise the anti-tumor effects of OTS-412. This is the first report of OTS-412, a VV-tk deleted OVV containing a mutant HSV-tk transgene, which demonstrates tumor selectivity and sensitivity to GCV. The HSV-tk/GCV combination provides a safety mechanism for future clinical applications of OTS-412.
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Liu C, Wen C, Wang X, Wei Y, Xu C, Mu X, Zhang L, Wang X, Tian J, Ma P, Meng F, Zhang Q, Zhao N, Yu B, Gong T, Guo R, Wang H, Xie J, Sun G, Li G, Zhang H, Qin Q, Xu J, Dong X, Wang L. Golgi membrane protein GP73 modified-liposome mediates the antitumor effect of survivin promoter-driven HSVtk in hepatocellular carcinoma. Exp Cell Res 2019; 383:111496. [PMID: 31306654 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2019.111496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide, and there is currently no effective therapeutic strategy in clinical practice. Gene therapy has great potential for decreasing tumor-induced mortality but has been clinically limited because of the lack of tumor-specific targets and insufficient gene transfer. The study of targeted transport of therapeutic genes in HCC treatment seems to be very important. In this study, we evaluated a gene therapy approach targeting HCC using the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir (HSVtk/GCV) suicide gene system in HCC cell lines and in an in vivo human HCC xenograft mouse model. GP73-modified liposomes targeted gene delivery to the tumor tissue, and the survivin promoter drove HSVtk expression in the HCC cells. Our results showed that the survivin promoter was specifically activated in tumor cells and HSVtk was expressed selectively in tumor cells. Combined with GCV treatment, HSVtk expression resulted in suppression of HCC cell proliferation via enhancing apoptosis. Moreover, tail vein injection of GP73-HSVtk significantly suppressed the growth of xenograft tumors through an apoptosis-dependent pathway and extended the survival of tumor-bearing mice without damaging the mice liver functions. Taken together, this study demonstrates an effective cancer-specific gene therapy strategy using the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir (HSVtk/GCV) suicide gene system for HCC that can be further developed for future clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Liu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Chaochao Wen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Xi Wang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Yan Wei
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Chunyang Xu
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Xiuli Mu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Lina Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Xuan Wang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Jiubo Tian
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Peiyuan Ma
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Fanxiu Meng
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Na Zhao
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Baofeng Yu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China.
| | - Tao Gong
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Rui Guo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Hailong Wang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Jun Xie
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Gongqin Sun
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China; Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA
| | - Gaopeng Li
- Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Hongwei Zhang
- Department of Haematology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Qin Qin
- Central Laboratory, Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Jun Xu
- Department of General Surgery, Shanxi Dayi Hospital, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China.
| | - Xiushan Dong
- Department of General Surgery, Shanxi Dayi Hospital, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China
| | - Lumei Wang
- Department of Dermatology, Dong Guan People's Hospital, Dongguan, 523018, Guangdong, China.
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6
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Meng J, Zhang JG, Du ST, Li N. The effect of gene therapy on postoperative recurrence of small hepatocellular carcinoma (less than 5cm). Cancer Gene Ther 2018; 26:114-117. [PMID: 30190512 DOI: 10.1038/s41417-018-0043-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2018] [Revised: 07/06/2018] [Accepted: 07/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
To observe the curative effect of surgery combined with gene therapy on small hepatocellular carcinoma. Seventy-seven patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma (diameter < 5 cm) underwent surgical resection. The tumor located at the edge of the liver was treated by local excision or irregular hepatectomy. The tumor in the center of the liver was resected by hepatic lobectomy in order to ensure at least a 2-cm safety margin. Fifty-four patients underwent gene therapy (gene group) one or two times before operation, whereas 23 patients underwent surgery alone (control group) selected by themselves. The injectable gene was made of ADV-TK (adenovirus containing thymidine kinase suicide gene, with a concentration of 5 × 1012/ml). The prognosis of patients was analyzed by imaging twice a year. In the gene group, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 91.4, 63.6, and 52.1%. In the control group, the survival rates were 84.3, 54.4, and 32.6%, respectively. There was a significant difference in the overall survival rates between two groups. Factors associated with overall survival in univariate analysis included bilirubin, prothrombin activity, cirrhosis, and gene therapy (P < 0.05). In the multivariate analysis, it included cirrhosis, gene therapy, and bilirubin. The gene therapy hepatocellular carcinoma patients with a diameter < 5 cm could significantly reduce recurrence after operation. It was worthy of being popularized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Meng
- Department of surgery, Beijing You-An Hospital, Capital Medical University, 100069, BeiJing, China
| | - Jing-Guang Zhang
- Department of surgery, Beijing You-An Hospital, Capital Medical University, 100069, BeiJing, China
| | - Song-Tao Du
- Department of surgery, Beijing You-An Hospital, Capital Medical University, 100069, BeiJing, China
| | - Ning Li
- Department of surgery, Beijing You-An Hospital, Capital Medical University, 100069, BeiJing, China.
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Fang X, Hu T, Yin H, Yang J, Tang W, Hu S, Xu X. Differences in telomerase activity and the effects of AZT in aneuploid and euploid cells in colon cancer. Int J Oncol 2017. [PMID: 28627647 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2017.4043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomerase-targeted treatments for cancer have received a great deal of attention because telomerase is detected in nearly all cancer cells but is not expressed in most normal tissues. Aneuploidy refers to a chromosome number that is not a multiple of the base chromosome number and can indicate either hypo- or hyperploid chromosome numbers. Most solid tumors are aneuploid. In the present study, we sought to determine whether there are differences in telomerase activity and hTERT gene expression between aneuploid and euploid cells. Furthermore, we investigated telomerase inhibitor 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT)-induced cell apoptosis using the p53-Puma/Noxa/Bax pathway and cell cycle arrest using the p53-p21 pathway in both aneuploid and euploid cells. Our results demonstrate that telomerase activity and hTERT gene expression were higher in aneuploid than in euploid cells. In addition, AZT exerted time- and dose-dependent cytotoxic effects on both aneuploid and euploid cells, and aneuploid cells were more sensitive to AZT-induced cytotoxicity. In addition, both the p53-Puma/Noxa/Bax pathway and the cell cycle arrest-associated p53-p21 pathway were involved in the AZT-induced suppression of tumor cells. Importantly, aneuploid cells were more sensitive to AZT-induced cell cycle arrest (p53-p21) and DNA double-strand breaks (γ-H2AX), while euploid cells were more sensitive to AZT-induced apoptosis (p53-Puma/Bax/Noxa).
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Fang
- Clinical Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
| | - Tenghui Hu
- Clinical Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
| | - Hua Yin
- Clinical Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
| | - Junjun Yang
- Clinical Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
| | - Weian Tang
- Clinical Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
| | - Siqi Hu
- Clinical Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
| | - Xingxiang Xu
- Clinical Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225001, P.R. China
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Orozco Rodriguez JM, Nesrini M, Christiansen LS, Knecht W. Expression of tomato thymidine kinase 1 by means of the baculovirus expression vector system. NUCLEOSIDES NUCLEOTIDES & NUCLEIC ACIDS 2017; 35:691-698. [PMID: 27906616 DOI: 10.1080/15257770.2016.1139126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Tomato thymidine kinase 1 (ToTK1) is a deoxyribonucleoside kinase (dNK) that has been subject to study because of its potential to phosphorylate the nucleoside analogue 3-azido-2,3-dideoxythymidine (azidothymidine, AZT) equally well as its natural substrate thymidine (dThd). The combination of ToTK1 and AZT has been tested in two animal studies for its efficiency and use in suicide gene therapy for malignant glioma. The determination of the 3D structure of ToTK1 might shed light on the structure-function relationships of nucleoside activation by this enzyme and thereby show routes toward further improvement of ToTK1 and other TK1-like dNKs for suicide gene therapy. Here we report the successful expression of both full-length ToTK1 and a C-terminal truncated ToTK1 in Spodoptera frugiperda and Trichoplusia ni insect cells using the baculovirus expression vector system. This constitutes a further step on the road to determine the 3D structure of the first TK1 of plant origin, but also an enzyme with great potential for dNK-mediated suicide gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mohamad Nesrini
- a Department of Biology and Lund Protein Production Platform , Lund University , Lund , Sweden
| | | | - Wolfgang Knecht
- a Department of Biology and Lund Protein Production Platform , Lund University , Lund , Sweden
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Slot Christiansen L, Egeblad L, Munch-Petersen B, Piškur J, Knecht W. New Variants of Tomato Thymidine Kinase 1 Selected for Increased Sensitivity of E. coli KY895 towards Azidothymidine. Cancers (Basel) 2015; 7:966-80. [PMID: 26061968 PMCID: PMC4491694 DOI: 10.3390/cancers7020819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2015] [Revised: 05/19/2015] [Accepted: 05/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Nucleoside analogues (NA) are prodrugs that are phosphorylated by deoxyribonucleoside kinases (dNKs) as the first step towards a compound toxic to the cell. During the last 20 years, research around dNKs has gone into new organisms other than mammals and viruses. Newly discovered dNKs have been tested as enzymes for suicide gene therapy. The tomato thymidine kinase 1 (ToTK1) is a dNK that has been selected for its in vitro kinetic properties and then successfully been tested in vivo for the treatment of malignant glioma. We present the selection of two improved variants of ToTK1 generated by random protein engineering for suicide gene therapy with the NA azidothymidine (AZT).We describe their selection, recombinant production and a subsequent kinetic and biochemical characterization. Their improved performance in killing of E. coli KY895 is accompanied by an increase in specificity for the NA AZT over the natural substrate thymidine as well as a decrease in inhibition by dTTP, the end product of the nucleoside salvage pathway for thymidine. The understanding of the enzymatic properties improving the variants efficacy is instrumental to further develop dNKs for use in suicide gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Slot Christiansen
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund 22362, Sweden; E-Mail:
- Lund Protein Production Platform, Lund University, Lund 22362, Sweden; E-Mail:
| | - Louise Egeblad
- Lund Protein Production Platform, Lund University, Lund 22362, Sweden; E-Mail:
| | - Birgitte Munch-Petersen
- Department of Science, Systems and Models, Roskilde University, Roskilde 4000, Denmark; E-Mail:
| | - Jure Piškur
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund 22362, Sweden; E-Mail:
| | - Wolfgang Knecht
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund 22362, Sweden; E-Mail:
- Lund Protein Production Platform, Lund University, Lund 22362, Sweden; E-Mail:
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